"The last two years when I was coming here, I was playing very, very bad ... but the worst moment in the year (was) when I come to the U.S. Open," Nadal said. "I think now is a little bit different, no?"

Yes, it is very different.

It is very different, too, for Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova.

A year after she emerged from virtual obscurity to win the title, she sprayed shots wildly in a 6-3, 6-2 loss to fellow Russian Ekaterina Bychkova and became the first U.S. Open defending women's champion to fall in the first round.

There was little surprise in Kuznetsova's early ouster. She's been struggling to find her rhythm all year and came into the Open with a mediocre 27-14 record and no titles.

Perhaps Serena should worry less about her jewelry than her conditioning. She flashed a $40,000 pair of platinum-and-diamond chandelier earrings on court, one of which fell off during the match.

"I didn't put it on tight enough because I was rushing to go out," she said. "I was hoping it wouldn't fall, but I knew in the back of my mind it would and it did."

The highest seeded player to lose on the first day among the men was No. 9 Gaston Gaudio, the 2004 French Open champion who was taken out by wild card Brian Baker of Nashville, Tenn., 7-6 (9), 6-2, 6-4. The 20-year-old Baker, sidelined for three months earlier this year with a left wrist injury, came into the tournament ranked No. 197 after laboring mostly on the Challengers tour.

"I think I've always had it in me," Baker said of the biggest victory of his career. "I just haven't quite been able to put it together for a whole match. Ever since I was a little kid, you always dream about being top 10 in the world and winning a Grand Slam. I know that's a long way away right now, but hopefully with a lot of hard work, getting a little bit better, maybe I can accomplish those things down the road."